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“The last time they raced on this type of circuit was Barcelona, and they got lapped. That is not going to happen. I think they did pretty well at that test, to be fair. They have moved the bar up for themselves a big chunk on Sundays – anyway… that is the way it went.”

“I don’t want to complain anything about Pirelli. There were others complaining about Pirelli when they were not performing well [a reference to Red Bull]. Now we are not performing well because the car is not performing well, because here on the track, all of us, maybe we are not doing the job well enough.”

“You cannot look at this year and think, ‘It?óÔéĽÔäós time to get out’. That?óÔéĽÔäós not the right way of looking at it. This team will win a championship over the next few years and I want to be here for that.”

“After Silverstone, Lotus are expected to make a minor modification to the E21’s suspension for the next round in Germany after a rule clarification from the FIA, who were asked by a rival team to confirm the Lotus set-up’s legality.”

“If we never try things we will never learn anything and we will never start using things. We don’t have test and you have to use them at some point. I don’t really see that we have much to lose because without trying something new and finding a chunk of time we will not catch the guys in front of us. We try to do everything that we can.”

“They need to change the regulations to ensure this sort of thing does not happen. The FIA and the teams need to sort it out. People pay good money, and there is a television audience to think about, too.”

“He was adamant that Vettel ignoring team orders and taking the victory at the Malaysian GP that Webber was set to score had no bearing on his move to Porsche, which is returning to sports car racing after a long absence, targeting success in the Le Mans 24 Hours classic. ‘No, it wasn’t [the reason],’ he said. ‘There are lots of people I had Christmas with who can tell a different story.'”

“At McLaren I had effectively been technical director for eight years. I needed to progress. The organisation needed a progression, too. There are plenty of engineers there who have their own ambitions. It didn’t feel right for me to stay for another period. And then an opportunity arose so I took it.”

“The director, Keith Mackenzie, wanted the ability to record all cameras for replay, and the setup below was a cost effective solution with 15 VHS machines, thirteen to record (one per camera), one for replay and a switchable input machine for record overlap.”

Comment of the day

It happens every year from 2011 onwards: season starts with rapidly degrading tyres, some teams and drivers start to critisize the tyres continously, Pirelli then reacts and starts to bring conservative tyre choices from the middle of the season and teams start to understand how to preserve tyres better.

Result: races go from entertaining (which isn?óÔéĽÔäót always very good for fans) to becoming really boring (which is worse then races with severe tyre degradation). Pirelli just struggle to find the ballance and react too sensitive.

For example, last years Hungarian Grand Prix tyre choice was spot on, but this year they decided to bring medium and hard tyres instead of medium and soft. It means, that races will become boring in the middle of the season, not at the end of it.@Osvaldas31

41 comments on “Mercedes won’t struggle, reckons Webber”

â€śI donâ€™t want to complain anything about Pirelli. There were others complaining about Pirelli when they were not performing well [a reference to Red Bull]. Now we are not performing well because the car is not performing well, because here on the track, all of us, maybe we are not doing the job well enough.â€ť

Again with people watching rain for 90 minutes? and it’s a massive story?

Imagine how people felt in the US Open in the last few years when the men’s final was re-scheduled on a monday (working day) instead of sunday because there was rain and it was suspended…

It’s practice for crying out loud… F1 teams are clever enough not to waste time and money driving around for 90 minutes when the conditions are not right and there’s absolutely no point at all. There’s a lot of other things that need to be fixed before that… people trying to save tyres and not running enough at qualy, that’s a bigger problem !

Unless they follow Rosberg’s suggestion at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix and lend the Safety Cars to the drivers to have a go even on a flooded track, it’s hard to change much…

But there seems to be this unspoken assumption that because people spent a certain amount of money – and, most likely, took the day off work – to go to the circuit on Friday, then they will see a pre-determined amount of action from the teams and drivers. If there is anything less, the people will protest vehemently, because apparently they are owed something just for showing up, even when paying that assumed debt is detrimental to the teams.

Plus it wasn’t as bad as Australia this year as there was barely any action on the Saturday due to the rain. It kept getting postponed and postponed until they eventually put it on Sunday. I don’t remember this kind of uproar.

Poor Lotus, a neat and tidy arrangement will have to be undone because of a nit-picking rule no doubt imposed to outlaw some previous diabollically complicated and expensive idea designed to get around another design restriction. I’ts Red-Tape and it is spoiling F1.

It’s not as if Lotus ran afoul of an uncertain rule. Martin Brundle explained this one on the coverage last night: teams are only allowed to have three pick-up points connecting the suspension to the front wheels. Lotus’ solution is in violation of that rule, which has existed for years.

I also sympathise with Alonso/Ferrari, after;
1. Coming up with a new design using CFD
2. Building a 60% scale model
3.testing it in the windtunnel
4. computing the results up to 100%
5. building a 100% scale piece
6. Installing and testing during pre-race practice
Only to find out that none of the above has been of any use.
Honestly if F1 had these design and testing restrictions in the 1950’s we would still have the engine in the front.

The other thing which the COTD ignores is that the teams’ understanding of the tyres evolves over the course of the season, so its hardly surprising that tyre degradation is less of an issue in the latter half.

The comment also confirms my view that Pirelli can’t win whatever they do, so personally I’ll ignore the complaining and just enjoy another great season of F1.

Agree – one of the best races was Austin and Pirelli made the most conservative choice there. Pirelli can’t please everybody so I hope they’ve learned how to approach a new season PR-wise and do it better next year.

I think there’s a good point in the COTD. Its very much true that we have seen the ritual go like this for a couple of years now (everyone being in the wild first, then some start to get on top, some complain – including the media – Pirelli is more conservative for the later rounds, at the same time teams master the tyres – and then people start to complain about the races not being full of action).

The part I think you disagree with is more the part where its mentioned the races get boring. I agree with you @jonsan, those races were hardly boring (although Japan and India were a bit of a lull).

I agree that there were some exciting races in the second half of the 2012 season but many factors, such as weather, championship standings or a new circuit contributed to the entertainment. I’d say that those races were enjoyable despite the conservative tyre choices, not because of them. I understand that Pirelli have a tough job as it’s not easy to find the right balance. But it’s also pretty obvious that the image of the company is their top priority and “the show” and everything else comes after that.

If Bernie wants the teams to put on a show for the TV audience perhaps he should give them a bigger share of the revenue so they can afford a spare car as teams always had before Bernie/CVC started taking 50% of the revenue away from the teams.

How about 3 cars allowed in P1/P2, using the spare chassis and the teams young driver(s). That way costs are kept down as the teams are already there, they run their new parts and get experience for drivers. Oh and as a bonus, the people that are actually keeping the sport alive “The Spectator” are getting what they pay for.

@Brian, he’s havin a tough year, I don’t particularly like him, but I think he is a real asset to F1. Especially when he’s got a good car beneath him, he has real penchant for getting under peoples skin! (including my own)

Hmm perhaps Bernie should just schedule 19-20 Grands prix at Bahrain and/or Anu Dhabi as there’s virtually no chance of rain… And he’d get a handsome increase in money into his pocket.

I for one really like seeing the rain, because its a true litmus test for a driver’s skill.
Also the fact that it was just the first practice session. Every other session since then has been dry and cars were out on track non-stop.

@tophercheese21 yes ! The driving in the rain as slow and boring it may sound , is actually the difference between a good driver and a hot shot . Vettel’s Brazil drive last year only made me see him amongst the top 3 . I hope this season brings the same excitement at the end ( I don’t want him to finish off things too soon )

Surprised theres nothing about redbull seeking testing clarification. One of the things they are apparently asking is if its ok to run a 2011 car over 1000km with a current driver before every grandprix ala ferrari what ever the answer it will have big implications.

â€śThey need to change the regulations to ensure this sort of thing does not happen. The FIA and the teams need to sort it out. People pay good money, and there is a television audience to think about, too.â€ť

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; there is no such thing as a boring F1 race. There are processional F1 races, but they are never boring.
Formula 1 is a privilege, not a right, and F1 fans should respect that before labeling F1 races as dull and ‘the worst F1 race I’ve ever seen, so I shall stop watching it’.
Formula 1 racing is something to enjoy; not to criticise endlessly until either a certain driver/team stops winning, or there are a limitless amount of overtakes and battles for the lead.